Greenwald: Snowden told Gitmo joke

Glenn Greenwald defended Edward Snowden on Monday, saying the NSA leaker “sacrificed his entire life” to bring more transparency about U.S. intelligence. He also recalled Snowden joking about ending up in prison.

Greenwald, the journalist whose work in The Guardian published a series of reports based on Snowden’s leaks, praised his humor during an interview with NBC’s “Today” show host Matt Lauer.

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“I call the bottom bunk at Gitmo,” Greenwald quoted Snowden as saying, a joke that the U.S. government would detain the two at Guantánamo Bay because of their disclosures.

The journalist’s appearance came as “No Place to Hide,” his book on the Snowden affair, is released this week.

In the interview with Lauer, Greenwald said that Snowden gave up everything for the sake of exposing what he perceived as abuses in the federal government.

Snowden “knowingly sacrificed his entire life to bring information to his fellow citizens,” Greenwald said. “That is an extraordinary story.”

He also said Snowden was well aware of the risks that came with the disclosures. “The U.S. government tries to put people in prison every time they bring unwanted transparency to politicians,” Greenwald said.

He also defended Snowden against suggestions by some, including House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), that the NSA leaker might be providing intelligence to Russia. “Anyone can make up any accusation they want. And rational people demand evidence before they believe it,” Greenwald said Monday. “There’s zero evidence he did any such thing.”

The journalist added that Snowden is “incredibly gratified” with the discussion in the U.S. and around the world about surveillance that has followed his leaks.